UCI stuns top-seeded Long Beach State

UC Irvine guard Alex Young celebrates the upset victory over Long Beach State in a Big West Tournament semifinal at the Honda Center on Friday. MICHAEL GOULDING., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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UC Irvine's Michael Wilder celebrates with Anteaters fans after upsetting Long Beach State, 67-60, in a Big West Tournament semifinal at the Honda Center on Friday. MICHAEL GOULDING., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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UC Irvine guard Alex Young (1) celebrates the Anteaters' 67-60 upset victory over top-seeded Long Beach State in a Big West Tournament semifinal at the Honda Center on Friday. MICHAEL GOULDING., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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UC Irvine center Will Davis II, right, takes a rebound away from Long Beach State guard Keala King in the second half of a Big West Tournament semifinal at the Honda Center on Friday. MICHAEL GOULDING., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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49ers coach Dan Monson emphatically tries to set a defense for his team in the first half of Friday's Big West Tournament semifinal at the Honda Center. MICHAEL GOULDING., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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UC Irvine's Michael Wilder signals a 3-pointer in the second half of Friday's Big West Tournament semifinal at the Honda Center. MICHAEL GOULDING., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Four UC Irvine defenders swarm around Long Beach State forward Tony Freeland (22) in the second half of a Big West Tournament semifinal at the Honda Center on Friday. MICHAEL GOULDING., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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UC Irvine's Alex Young, left, Will Davis II, center, and Michael Wilder celebrate as time runs out in their 67-60 upset of top-seeded Long Beach State in Friday night's Big West Tournament semifinal. MICHAEL GOULDING., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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UC Irvine's Michael Wilder gives up the ball under some pressure defense by Long Beach State's Dan Jennings (35) in the first half of Friday's Big West Tournament semifinal at the Honda Center. MICHAEL GOULDING., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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UC Irvine guard Alex Young (1) slams into Long Beach State guard Mike Caffey on his way to the basket in the first half of Friday's Big West Tournament semifinal at the Honda Center in Anaheim. MICHAEL GOULDING., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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UC Irvine's Michael Wilder celebrates with Anteaters fans after upsetting Long Beach State, 67-60, in a Big West Tournament semifinal at the Honda Center on Friday. MICHAEL GOULDING., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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UC Irvine forward Travis Souza gets squeezed by two Long Beach State defenders under the basket in the first half of Friday's Big West Tournament semifinal at the Honda Center. MICHAEL GOULDING., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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UC Irvine's Michael Wilder (23), center Will Davis II (3) and guard Chris McNealy (5), celebrate with UCI fans after upsetting Long Beach State in a Big West Tournament semifinal at the Honda Center on Friday. MICHAEL GOULDING., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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UC Irvine forward Travis Souza, center, tries to rip the ball away from Long Beach State forward Tony Freeland (22) in the first half of Friday's Big West Tournament semifinal at the Honda Center. MICHAEL GOULDING., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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UC Irvine guard Chris McNealy slams home a dunk on a breakaway in the first half of Friday's Big West Tournament semifinal at the Honda Center. MICHAEL GOULDING., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Three times in the previous eight years (2005, 2006, 2012), the 49ers had stopped the Anteaters in the semifinals. And, leading by seven with 14:32 remaining, the Big West regular-season champions appeared poised to make it four in nine.

But the Anteaters' outside shots that misfired most of the evening at Honda Center finally started to fall, the defense tightened up and No. 1 seed Long Beach State's offense dried up as UC Irvine rallied for a 67-60 victory.

"Tonight's game was like a lot of our games: It was close and we grinded it out with our defense, when we needed it the most," UCI coach Russell Turner said

Under Turner, defense has been pretty much a given for the Anteaters (20-14), who with a victory over Pacific on Saturday night would earn the school's first NCAA Tournament berth.

But it also took big 3-pointers by reserve Travis Souza, senior James Wilder and freshman Alex Young to breath life into UCI, and the last, with 3:40 left, gave the Anteaters the lead to keep at 54-53.

"I knew when we scored and got a stop, I knew we had the game in control," said Young, who coolly led the Anteaters with 18 points on 5-of-9 shooting.

"We got it (the lead) to seven, and then we went 4-5 possessions where we had a chance to break it open a little bit but couldn't," said Long Beach State coach Dan Monson, whose team is now headed for the NIT at 19-13.

It didn't help the 49ers that Big West Player of the Year James Ennis was in foul trouble all night, and fouled out with 1:08 left, having scored 11 points.

UCI senior guard Daman Starring missed 9 of his first 10 shots, but drove for a basket with 2:06 left that gave the No. 4 seeded team a 57-53 lead. With 35.5 seconds left, Starring penetrated and passed to Will Davis II for a dunk, one of seven assists by the second-team all-conference guard.

But Starring's greatest contribution likely came with 3:57 left, when he drew a charge from Keala King, negating a basket and setting up Young's go-ahead 3-pointer.

King (15 points) had been breaking down UCI defenders all night with a series of strong, clever moves.

"He's a great player," Starring said. "I just had to get a stop, do whatever I could."

UC Irvine did it all again without senior center Adam Folker (leg), who didn't play for the fourth consecutive game – although Turner said he could have used him, and might tonight.

"He is available," the coach said. "I almost brought him in when we were seven down to give us an emotional lift.

"But we've held him out, and our guys have stepped up."

Davis, a sophomore, had 14 points and nine rebounds for UCI, and junior Chris McNealy added 13 points and seven rebounds. Add in Young's contributions, and it was a big game for the underclassmen on a night when Starring and Wilder were 4 for 19 from the field.

The most exciting play of a tight first half was wiped out by video review.

UCI thought it led by four on an apparent buzzer-beating, 35-foot 3-point runner by Starring. But the officials went to the monitor, and called the two teams out to replay the final eight-tenths of the half after ruling a shot-clock violation by the Anteaters.

So UCI only led, 29-28, after 20 minutes that featured eight lead changes and six ties.

"I've never had that happen ... I've never even seen that happen," Turner said. "I said that, if it didn't count, it was a resilience challenge for our team."

The Anteaters last played in the Big West title game in 2008, falling to Cal State Fullerton, 81-66. Saturday night will be UCI's fourth try at the conference tournament championship.

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